The Billboard Spotlight On Japan: Critic's Choice

Artist: Ajico
Album: Fuka Midori
Label: Speedstar
Distributor: Victor Entertainment
Publisher: Kilauea Publishers/
Wild Corp.
Management: Aloha Productions/
Wild Corp.
With the notable exception of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the supergroup concept has never really caught on in Japan. But the formation of Ajico last year shows that there's hope for the idea here yet. The band comprises Kenichi Asai, former vocalist/guitarist for rock trio Blankey Jet City; the superlative and enigmatic female vocalist Ua; Tokie, bassist with popular new rock/rap trip Rize; and drummer Kyoichi Shino, who had previously worked with Ua. Freed from the stylistic straitjacket of Blankey Jet City, Asai stretched out both as a writer and a guitarist on Fuka Midori (Deep Green). He leads Ajico into several improvisational bits that give full vent to the musicians' desire to go beyond the conventional pop-song format. Ua, the band's main vocalist, showed once again why she is one of the Japanese music scene's most intriguing artists, her singing somehow simultaneously earthy and ethereal. The only thing that spoils Fuka Midori is the singing of Asai, who unfortunately belongs to the strangulated-ferret school of Japanese male rock vocalists.


Artist: Brahman
Album: A Forlorn Hope
Label: Tactics Records
Distributor: Toy's Factory
Publisher: Toy's Factory/Tactics Records
Management: Tactics Records
In the last few years, Brahman has developed into arguably the best exponent of the genre known in Japan as "melo-core" or "melodious hardcore." On A Forlorn Hope, Brahman stretches the melo-core template to include, for example, elements of flamenco and even country. Brahman is a formidable live act, but on A Forlorn Hope the band proves it's got what it takes to make great records: well-written songs with hooks to spare and strong performances, augmented by clear, unfussy production. Vocalist Toshi-Low proves he is no one-dimensional shouter, displaying subtle vocal skills on the band's slower numbers. The album's standout track is "Deep," a fast-paced rocker previously released as a single. It highlights Brahman's strengths: passion, power and precision.


Artist: Captain Funk
Album: Songs of the Siren
Label: Sublime Records
Distributor: Music Mine
Publisher: Music Mine Inc.,
Superschnozz (Tower Records)
Management: captainfunkmgmt@ hotmail.com
One of Japan's most in-demand DJs/remixers, Captain Funk has firmly established his credentials as a recording artist with his second album, Songs of the Siren. Starting with the driving, infectious opening track, "Planet Kharma," the Captain (real name: Tatsuya Oe) takes his listeners on a high-energy, roller-coaster ride on an album full of relentless beats, brilliantly employed samples and punchy rock guitar. Guest artists on Songs of the Siren include Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith (featured on "Lucid Dreams: Version 1"), Zoobombs vocalist Don Matsuo and Tokyo-based horn section Black Bottom Brass Band. Besides "Planet Kharma," another killer track on the album is "Losin' My Way," which was released as a single. Songs of the Siren shows why Tokyo's club-music scene is one of the world's liveliest and most eclectic.


Artist: Dabo
Album: Platinum Tongue
Label: Reality Records/Def Jam Japan
Distributor: Victor Entertainment
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing/ Lexington Co.
Management: Reality Records
Platinum Tongue, the debut solo album by Dabo, lead vocalist of Tokyo-based hip-hop act Nitro Microphone Underground, proves once and for all that Japanese rap has come of age. The sound is hard, uncompromising and serious, and Dabo's lyrics are full of romantic but streetwise sentiment. Various Japanese DJs produce individual tracks on Platinum Tongue, which comprises hardcore cuts such as the title track, more soulful stuff like "Pinky-Dakara, Sono Te o Hanashite" (featuring Japanese R&B singer Tyler) and deep chill-out stuff such as the stunning closing track, "Zero (Mukasee Mukasee Mix)."


Artist: DJ Krush
Album: Zen
Label: Sony Music Entertainment
(Japan)
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment (Japan)
Publisher: Our Songs Inc., Es. U. Es Corporation, Kesia Editions, EMI Music, My Dog Luna Music.
Management: Es. U. Es. Corporation
"Austere" is the first word that comes to mind on hearing the latest album by DJ Krush, although some might prefer to use the word "sparse" to describe Krush's tastefully minimalist soundscapes. The music on Zen skirts close to ambient territory at times, but Krush avoids falling into a sonic rut by enlisting the help of guest artists such as Black Thought, Zap Mama, N'Dea Davenport and Sunja Lee, who intones an apocalyptic spoken-word vocal on the album's brilliant closing track, "Gokurakuchou Ron (Paradise Bird Theory)." Zen uses a rich palette of tonal colors to paint a powerful, sometimes disturbing picture of the fin-de-millennium world. A chill-out classic.


Artist: Feed
Title: 9 Songs
Label: TripMaster
Distributor: Polystar
Publisher: De-I Productions
Management: De-I Productions
An auspicious debut album for this impossible-to-categorize quartet, 9 Songs was recorded in late 1999 in New York with the Patti Smith Group's Lenny Kaye handling production duties, but wasn't released until late June of this year due to various business difficulties. The good news is that it has been worth the wait. 9 Songs is a "grower," as they say, full of art-rock gems whose beauty become more apparent with each listening. Permeating Feed's songs is, for want of a better description, a sense of mystic longing subtly suggested by the interplay of lead singer Maya Saito's voice, Shinsuke Komiyama's guitar and Akifumi Ikeda's bass, while drummer Taro Dai makes sure that Starship Feed doesn't leave the known universe altogether. Tracks on 9 Songs such as "Find Me" and "Without Knowing" are beautifully realized and utterly unlike anything else currently coming out of Japan, proving that Kaye was an inspired choice as producer.


Artist: Great 3
Album: May and December
Label: Bodicious
Distributor: Toshiba-EMI
Publisher: ys corp.
Management: ys corp.
May and December, the fifth album from the pop/rock band Great 3, is a stunningly beautiful collection of songs that possesses an organic unity few Japanese albums manage to achieve. Brian Wilson and the High Llamas are the band's most obvious stylistic reference points, but Jimi Hendrix, bluegrass, soul and Japanese kayokyoku pop are other key influences. The prevailing mood on May and December (which was mixed by John McEntire, best known for his work with Tortoise and The Sea and Cake) is a kind of melodic melancholy. The first two songs, "Bee" and "Sad Dancer," set the tone: mellow without being soporific, wistful but not wimpy. The third track, "ACAN," is one of the album's standouts, with its hypnotic, loping bass line and cryptic, minimalist lyrics. And on tracks such as "Brother's Shadow," Great 3 leave its rock roots far behind as it ventures somewhere off toward jazz.


Artist: Hermann H. & The Pacemakers
Live Show: Shibuya Yaneura, Sept. 16, 2000
The music of Hermann H. & the Pacemakers is classic power pop, combining the punch and pace of rock 'n' roll with pop's catchy hooks, melodies and harmonies. Like many other Japanese bands these days, Hermann H. (an offhand reference to Hermann Hesse) & the Pacemakers got their start in what's known as a "music circle," or music club, at their university-in their case, Tokyo's prestigious Keio University. Since making their live debut in January 1998 at a Tokyo "live house," they've put out a series of quite excellent singles and mini-albums on Warner Indies Network, but nothing quite matches seeing the band do its stuff live. This six-member band gives an incredibly tight performance that's obviously the result of many long hours of practice. Hermann et. al. are not in the conventional J-pop mold, making them hard to classify and thus promote. All they really need is one killer single to break big. Then you can forget about catching them live at tiny subterranean bunkers like Yaneura.


Artist: Love Psychedelico
Album: The Greatest Hits
Label: Victor Entertainment
Distributor: Victor Entertainment
Publisher: Hit Vibe
Management: Hit Vibe
Love Psychedelico, which comprises vocalist Kumi and guitarist Naoki Sato, came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest sensations on the J-pop scene this year. The duo's first album, the audaciously titled The Greatest Hits, has sold close to 2 million copies since being released Jan. 11. It's a stunningly assured debut effort. The songs are replete with catchy hooks and riffs that you just can't get out of your head, and the production style is clean, bold and gutsy. Kumi and Sato cite the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Sheryl Crow and Bob Dylan as musical influences, and those influences are very apparent in the duo's music. One of the most striking things about Love Psychedelico's music is the way Kumi sings Japanese lyrics with an American-English intonation, which adds to Love Psychedelico's yogaku (foreign music) vibe.


Artist: Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
Title: Casanova Said "Live or Die"
Label: Heat Wave
Distributor: Nippon Columbia
Publisher: Bad Music Music Publishing/ Nippon Columbia Music Publishing
Management: Bad Music
What an extremely loud band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant is. And what a great band, too. Look no further for proof of both these statements than this wonderful live album, recorded in one night last year at Tokyo's Akasaka Blitz venue. TMGE does not play music-the band attacks it (and its audience) with an intensity that this very raw, almost bootleg-ish album conveys extraordinarily well. Vocalist Yusuke Chiba is one of the best front men on the Japanese music scene, with his near-psychotic delivery, while lead guitarist Futoshi Abe is a riffmeister who seamlessly blends lead runs with solid rhythm playing. Standout tracks: "Baby Stardust" and "GT400," which will make you want to jump on a Harley and tear out of town like a blue streak. Fast, loud and fun.